Endless Ballad
by Akhael
Summary: She who protects everything. She who destroys anything. What will happen when they both meet? And what if they both fall in love with each other?  WARNING: GL story
1. Title and Prologue

"Stop, please!"

Tears falling from her eyes, her smile on that day engraves itself on my memory. On my heart. On my being.  
>"It was fun Caelle. If only the circumstances are different..."<p>

"Wait," I run, ignoring my wounds, ignoring the pain forming itself into little droplets falling from my eyes – pouring my heart out I scream at her even though I know it's futile. "I will save you, I will go after you!"

"Don't," she shakes her head. "It's okay. I'm sorry for everything… It would have been better if you haven't met me."

"You're wrong!" I extend my hand, trying to reach her, trying to save her from the vile being who is about to take her away. "Wait for me. Wait for – "

And just like that, she disappears before my sight.

Forever.

* * *

><p><strong>Endless Ballad<strong>

* * *

><p>But even if it takes me forever, I will look for her.<p>

It doesn't matter how long, it doesn't matter how hard

Because this life, this soul,

This heart –

Everything of me beats for her alone.


	2. Verse 1: Silver Knight

**Verse 1: Silver Knight**

"S-stop! You're hurting me." I hear a voice from the narrow passage on my left. I rub my eyes while sighing. Another job for me, I guess.

Quickly, I put up my stern face on and walk towards the narrow passage. I focus my eyes on the man holding a girl wearing my school's uniform. She's scared and trembles in the man's grip – she looks at me, asking for help.

"What's your problem, kid? If you don't want to get hurt stay away from my business," he spits at the ground. I stare at him for a moment then give him my coldest smile.

"It seems that you don't know who I am," I take a step forward. "Well, it's too late now."

I dive in between the girl and the man and deliver my strongest uppercut on his chin. As if not enough, I kick his stomach, hard, so that he's thrown backwards with a thud.

He stands up slowly, clutching his stomach. "You bitch. I'll give you something you deserve."

I smile again at his words. "Give me all you've got."

* * *

><p>I wipe blood from my face when the man doesn't move anymore. Finally. I have received more blows than what I have expected. Must be because I never got into fights during summer. But now that a new semester begins, I guess my past self will come back in time. Still, my speed and strength are the same. The man's a bull – gets up a lot of times. I had a hard time knocking him down.<p>

I sigh. My first day of another year, and here I am covered in bruises. I have thought that I will be looked at by my classmates during this year on a whole new perspective. Surely, when I go to my classroom in this state, they will still see me as a warfreak bastard. A delinquent. I sigh again while looking at my watch. And I'm late. Maybe I'll just ditch first day?

"H-hey. Are you alright?"

I look at the girl I have saved. She has a shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. She's quite tall, but not taller than me, and has fair skin. Her eyelashes are long and her face is round and smooth. She looks cute in our school uniform – a long-sleeved white shirt with black collar and black skirt. Odette Alzen. I have been her classmate before. She's shy and a bit reserved but when she laughs… everyone laughs too. Her laughter is contagious.

I avert my gaze from her and walk towards my bag. I pick it up and hang it on my right shoulder. The wind blows my short silver locks on my face so I brush it off with my left.

"Uhm… thank you."

I turn my back towards her as I smile at her words. Normally, my schoolmates will run away when they see me. This is the first time that I hear those kind words. The happiness is short-lived, for I should respond differently from what I really feel. If I become friends with anybody… who knows what those goons after me will do to them. The reason why other delinquents don't touch the students of Albion is because of me. And if they discover my weakness, I cannot protect everybody anymore.

"Don't misunderstand," I tell her with my cold, hard voice as my smile disappears from my face. "I just happen to pass here and you're on my way. Plus, I need a little exercise. I have things to fix after all."

And with that, I walk away.

* * *

><p>Albion Academy is originally an all-girls school. Last year, they changed the curriculum into co-ed. And that was the start of my huge problem. Male students changed schools in order to get here since this is one of the only three schools who accept girls in this city. And as a result, there were problems of interaction between the sexes.<p>

And I just happened to be here, training myself to be stronger each day.

It's not that I regret it, I am happy to help my schoolmates when they need help. But my first year wasn't that easy. I had my reason to be stronger, and it is to protect someone, not to protect everybody. But when I cannot take the repeated violence anymore, I established my name not only in this school, but in others. I made the strongest in our school submit to me. I wore male clothing so that I could gain respect in this patriarchal society. I made it to protect every single student of Albion. Everyday, students from other schools challenged me, disregarding the fact that I'm a girl. And of course, I took bruises and even fractures from them. But I always told myself that it's okay, because this is what I have decided.

What really gets to me is that my schoolmates look at me like I'm a dangerous beast. I only touch those who are violent against my schoolmates. Beyond that, I do nothing. But nevertheless, they avoided me. It's not like I'm asking for friendship… I just want respect. Or maybe, I really just want to belong. Or… I really want to have friends. Who doesn't want to have one? At least change their perspective of me as a monster into something great like… I don't know, a knight? Just something respectable, not frightening.

"Stupid people who judge others," I hit the punching bag with all my strength. The bag flies high away from me.

"Fools who misunderstand everything," this time, I hit it with my left. The bag spins.

"And idiot me for protecting these people without making them understand what I'm doing," I kick the bag and somehow, the fabric tears off. I sigh.

"Caelle Elizabeth. That's the last punching bag you'll touch. God, you're draining our club funds!" A voice behind me echoes through the school boxing gym.

I laugh, "Sir Alex. I'm sorry. I just need to cool off for a while."

"Cool off? During the first day of classes? What trouble have you gotten yourself this time?" A man in his thirties appears from one of the doors of the gym. The man is tall and heavily built. He's wearing black shirt, boxing short and gloves. His hair is spiky black covered with gel and his silver eyes glitter while he smiles at me. Sir Alex is the moderator of the Boxing Club. He's my mentor in boxing. Also, he's one of my closest teacher-friends.

"And how many times should I tell you that you shouldn't kick punching bags anymore, your kicks kill the bags!" he moves to inspect the punching bag, "and your punches are about to kill one too! Argh, I come here to practice and all I get is a damaged punching bag. Thanks, Caelle," he messes my hair up.

I move away from him to stop him from messing my hair any further. "I said I'm sorry," I sigh again. "I just need to calm down."

"Why don't you spar with me then?" He flashes his white teeth.

"No way, can't you see my face?" I point at my bruises and the cut at my cheek. "I am thinking of changing my image to my schoolmates and here I am during the first day, walking in with a bruised body. If you'll spar with me, it will just worsen my image. I always end up in the infirmary after sparring with you."

He laughs. "I'm not that great. Besides, there are also circumstances wherein I end up in the infirmary after sparring with you. You're always underestimating yourself."

I raise my eyebrow, "Wait. Shouldn't you be scolding me right now teacher?"

He sighs. "Yes. But I know you Caelle. You never hurt anybody without a reason. That's why I taught you everything I know. I will scold you though, because you cut classes. Even though it's first day, and I know your circumstances, you shouldn't give up on your studies."

"I… just don't want to go to class looking like this." I remove my hands from the punching gloves and wipe them on my shorts.

"What are you thinking," he smiles at me. "You should be proud of those bruises. You protected someone in getting those, aren't you?"

"Yes. But everyone misunderstands. So there's no point."

"Caelle," he pats my head, "as long as you yourself know the reason for these bruises, that is enough. Besides, I also know the reason why you have those, even though I don't know the details. And you should learn how to speak your feelings soon. So that you too, can be happy. I don't want to see my hardest student wilt like that in front of me. So go, be proud of yourself."

I smile at him and punch his arm lightly. "Thanks teacher. Well, I'm late but who cares. Sir Alexis will knock me unconscious if I don't go to class so… I better scram."

He laughs at me again and leans on the punching bag. It finally breaks and the contents of the bag spill on the floor. "Caelle, you have to pay for this."

"No waaaaaay," I laugh as I rush towards the dressing room to change into my school uniform.

* * *

><p>I take a deep breath and put on my indifferent face. Lunch break is over and I'm in front of my classroom right now – nervous on how my classmates will react. I am concerned about myself, after all.<p>

I open the door gently and walk inside the classroom.

Silence floods the room. I can feel all eyes on me. I catch a gaze on one of my classmates. He quickly turns his head and nervously rummages his bag. I bite my lip and try to hide my eyes with my hair. This makes it easier for them.

But harder for me. This is how it is, after all.

I notice an empty seat at the back near the window. I walk towards it, sit silently and stare outside the window – seeing nothing as my thoughts are filled with unpleasant feelings.

Whispers erupt from the room. And their target is me.

"W-what? What is she doing here?"

"We're dead."

"Do you see that cut? It's first day and she beat up someone again."

"No, I don't want to be in this class anymore."

"You're right! She's here, our -"

I close my eyes and try to shut the noises I hear in the room. Cold, distant, hard. That's the way it is and should be. Be strong. Be proud. These bruises saved someone. That's enough.

The noises in the room somehow grow louder in my ears. For some reason, everything is getting in my nerves. I cannot control my emotions anymore. My outer shell is bursting and I'm doing my best not to shatter in front of my classmates. I grip the edge of my table, hard. Sit still, it'll be over soon.

"Odette, is that the girl you're talking about?" I open my eyes at the name. I take a glance at Odette and her friends. They are looking at me. I quickly avert my gaze. So she's my classmate after all. I'm glad.

"I think she heard us."

"It doesn't matter. It's better that she knows we don't want her. I heard that she's under the supervision of Sir Alex. That's good. She cannot touch us if Sir Alex watches her every move."

"Hey guys… You're misunderstanding something. I told you that she saved me… why are you looking at her like she's bad?" It is Odette's voice. My heart lightens. She's defending me.

"But she told you that you misunderstood everything, right? Besides, those cuts from a single guy? Impossible. This is Caelle Elizabeth we are talking about. If she had those wounds, then that's because she had fought a lot. Maybe after 'saving' you, she went off to fight someone else. She did tell you that she has things to 'fix'."

"Hanna, that's rude. It's true that she saved me. And she was wounded in doing so. Please don't make judgments when you don't even know her that well."

I hear a screeching sound of a chair then, a shadow appears in front of me. I move my eyes and see Odette smiling at me.

"Your wounds will be infected if you don't cover it. Here take this," Odette extends her hands and a band-aid lies on top of them. Silence fills the room once again. "This is the least that I can do in exchange for protecting me. I'm really grateful."

_ You should learn how to speak your feelings soon. So that you too, can be happy._

I ponder on Sir Alex's words while I stare at Odette. And finally made my decision.

I stand up and flash her a smile that she can only see, quickly. I put my stern face again and whisper to her while I get the band-aid from her hands. "No need to thank me. I want to protect everyone after all. But it will be best if you… stay away from me."

I pick up my bag and go out of the classroom.

* * *

><p>I remove the cover of the band-aid and put it on the huge cut on my cheek. "Heh. I smiled, didn't I? In front of my classmate? I never thought that I would do that again." I tell myself. I am happy. Sir Alex is right. Revealing my thoughts feel good. The last sentence crushed everything though. But it's okay. I made the first step. I can still go forward right? I smile at the thought.<p>

But then… if I really made friends, will they be safe? I sigh. Dead end. I am making everything complicated. I look above the skies as I walk outside the school. Walking out though. Is that really necessary? I think so. Besides, we are all uneasy. I might as well get a breather.

Suddenly, something huge and black appears over the clouds. It is fast, it zooms around the skies as if something is after it. And just as what I have expected, white things appear and are after it. The black creature clashes with the white things. Then, it dives, no… it falls, towards the Church nearby. Something falls on my cheek as it passes above me.

I touch my cheek and see a red liquid. Blood?

I grit my teeth and run towards the Church.

Angels? My eyes widen at the creatures in front of me. Inside the small church in our city, there are five white-winged humans surrounding a black-winged one. The black one looks badly hurt.

"Illyria, you're really a stubborn one, aren't you? Engaging us without a contract. Are you really nuts? You're underestimating us and it pisses me off," one of the white angels has spoken.

The black one laughs. Coldly. "Don't categorize me with you demons. I don't kill for pleasure."

The other white angel pulls the hair of the black angel. "You still have the guts to fight when you can't even stand on your own feet."

"I'd rather die than follow your plans. And I'd rather fight until I die rather than do nothing while you steal my life."

Laughter. "You're pathetic!" A blinding white light appears and the black angel is thrown against a wall, near to where I'm hiding. She coughs out blood, and I can see her whole body trembling.

This is too cruel. Even though I don't understand what's happening, what she's experiencing right now is too much. I grit my teeth. But what should I do? I will die, I don't know their abilities. I have no chance against them.

"Illyria, you could at least make a contract with Elric. With that you will be saved," the white angel laughs again, "though when he's finished with you, you'll just be an empty husk." She draws out a sword. My whole body tenses.

"But I won't let you. Besides, Elric is mine. So bye now Illyria," she throws the sword as I run towards the black angel, shielding her with my body. The sword is filled with light and with great force that might cut past me. I am afraid of the possibility so I grip the sword tightly as it hit me – drawing blood from my stomach and hands. I gasp and cough out blood. Shit. I'm really dead.

I drop beside the black angel. The white winged creatures frown at my appearance. "What's this Illyria? A back up? She sure is not a suitable one."

The black angel's eyes widen, "You… what are you doing? Why did you throw your life away like that for a stranger?"

I try to stand up. The sword pierces me deeper. I shriek. It hurts, it burns, pain spreads over my body. Too much… agony. I look at the black angel again. "Well… let's just say I'm already used to it."

"But- "

"While you're at it to talk," I slowly stand up, ignoring everything. The pain throbs in my nerves and my head is about to explode. But nevertheless, I stand up. "Might as well escape so that my sacrifice won't go to waste?"

All five angels have swords with them. They are all pointed at me. This is it. I'm really going to die. I smile. But at least I've lived up my principles until the end.

"Illyria, to use a human as a shield is not a bad idea. Though it won't change your fate. We'll just pierce through this measly human then." Then, they all throw the swords at me.

"I said go! I'm not just a measly human! Trust me to catch all of this, I will protect you!" I raise my arms and embrace the swords coming at me.

I'm thrown backwards because of the force, shifting my position in the process – landing against the wall beside the black angel. My whole body turns numb. "Idiot," I said weakly, "why didn't you go? I caught all of it, didn't I? Why is it that people around me don't try to trust me?"

I feel my body fall on the black angel's lap. My vision darkens. "You're the idiot one. You don't even know if I'm good or bad. You just come here out of the blue and use yourself as a shield."

I stare at her eyes and just realized that they are beautiful. They are sad, and at the same time deep and dark black filled with warmth and compassion. I smile. "If only you have escaped, then this sacrifice will not be useless."

I feel her soft, cold trembling hands on my chin and forehead as she tilts up my head. I wince. But when I open my eyes again, her face is inches against mine. "W-What are you…" I can feel my face getting hot even though I'm dying.

"Ssh. Stay still," she whispers and as I sink into oblivion, I feel her warm lips on mine.


End file.
